Winds of Autumn
by Tanicao
Summary: AU After promising her mother she’ll make something out of her life, Suzuhara Misaki attends the prestigious college, Deus. There begins the tale of six unlikely people bound to fall in love. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1: Deus College

Winds of Autumn

Summary: (AU) After promising her mother she'll make something out of her life, Suzuhara Misaki attends the prestigious college, Deus. There begins the tale of six unlikely people bound to fall in love.

Es Tanicao! Hey, people! I kinda lost interest in my last story, so I decided to give Angelic Layer a shot. Anyway, my second fanfic, my second idiot child! Ah well. Please enjoy nonetheless, and whether you do or don't, please review! The speed of the story depends on them!

Oh, and just for the note, all the characters are Angelic Layer characters. Even though I stole some of the last names from Magic Knight Rayearth, they aren't those characters and they aren't related to those characters. But some needed last names, and those seemed the most appropriate.

Disclaimer: I'm not four people and my drawings and plotlines suck. CLAMP is four people and their drawing and plotlines are amazing. So, that means I'm not CLAMP, and that means, I don't own the characters or Angelic Layer.

_"Misaki-chan… Misaki-chan…"_

_Fifteen-year-old Suzuhara Misaki closed her eyes. She didn't want to hear it._

_"Misaki-chan, your mother wants to see you." Misaki opened her eyes slightly. Her mother, who never had time for her during her life, finally wanted to speak to her in her death. It was unbearable, unfair. Why should she have to listen to the final words of someone she owed nothing to?_

_But still, Shuuko was her mother and a great lady. And Misaki was kind. Nodding and trembling, Misaki went into the hospital room where her mother lay._

_"Mother…" she said softly._

_"Misaki-chan, I think I may have caused you some great pain during your life."_

_Misaki didn't respond, but then again, her mother didn't expect a response._

_"But… please… listen to my selfishness one last time," Shuuko whispered. "Misaki-chan, you will be attending college in three years, yes?"_

_Misaki scowled. "Two years, Mother; I skipped a grade."_

_Shuuko smiled a broken smile, half-ashamed, half-sad. "Yes, yes… of course. I'm sorry I had forgotten. But please… please will you go to Deus? It's one of the greatest colleges. I never got to go; we never had enough money. But you're smart and athletic and I know you could make it, Misaki… please… Misaki-chan… please… I know you'll make something out of your life."_

_Misaki frowned. She wasn't really thinking about college. Yes, she was considering places to go, but she didn't want her decision to be set in stone, not when she still had time. But… she looked at her mother's hopeful face, her soft eyes praying to her. Misaki smiled._

_"Of course, Mother, I promise."_

Chapter 1 – Deus College

"This is it…" Misaki muttered, looking down at her directions sheet. "This is it, room 3012, Deus college."

Lugging her bag behind her, Misaki put the key into the lock and leaned, resting herself against it for a second, but only for a second as the door opened and Misaki fell down, her bag on top of her. Looks like someone else had beaten her to the room.

"Ow… Misaki muttered. "Ow, ow, ow…" She sighed. This was not the greatest way of starting out college. Already she had missed her bus stop and forced to walk dragging her bag behind her, and been mistaken for thirteen. Life sucked to be short. It looked like she could expect a lot of bullying this year. Everyone at Deus that she had seen seemed to be super rich and super glamorous. Everyone was gorgeous, everything so model-esque. She looked at her perfectly furnished room and at her roommate's suit case. Again, she sighed. Looked like her roomie was as rich as the rest of them.

She didn't know her roommate since she had never met her. Misaki had never seen a picture of her, a description of her, what classes she shared with Misaki, if she did track like Misaki… no, her name and Misaki's name had been randomly plucked out of a computer and slapped together, and all the two knew about each other was their names.

Misaki looked at the sheet again. "Shidou… Hikaru…" she sounded out. Misaki was terrible with names, so terrible she had scrawled her roommate's name on her direction sheet. She was nervous, and was secretly prayed that Hikaru wasn't as uppity as her suitcase.

"Shidou Hikaru!" she said loudly. But no response. It seemed her roommate was currently unavailable. Misaki smiled. At least that gave her time so that her roommate didn't have to see that she wasn't as rich as the rest of them. She began to unpack.

As she did so, she surveyed the room. Hikaru had chosen the room closest to the bathroom meaning Misaki was stuck with the room closest to the window. Looking out the window, Misaki gulped. The grounds seemed even bigger from the window than she had assumed they were. She was a shrimp. She wasn't good with directions. And she was so not prepared to get lost while a bunch of people assumed she was thirteen.

Too bad for her.

_I should check the grounds out later_, Misaki thought. _After all, that would give me some time to get associated. And classes don't start until tomorrow._

With her last clothe article put into the closet (and her clothes didn't take up nearly as much space as Hikaru's), she snatched her room key off the desk, put it into her pocket after locking the door and went out onto the grounds.

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"Wow," she gasped. "The grounds look even bigger than they did out the window!"

All around, college students were associating left and right, talking and gossiping and bragging. Most of them, save the ones who bumped into her, completely ignored her. Actually, even some of the kids who bumped into her still ignored her. She gulped. The amount of bruises she was going to get from just running into people this year would probably turn her skin from peach to purple.

Blushing slightly, Misaki thought of her height. She was always teased for being small, just like her mother everyone had said. But Misaki never really got to know her mother. She loved her and everything, but her mother was dead, and the only thing Misaki had to do with her was going to this college, her mother's last dying wish. Everyone who knew Shuuko said that she was wonderful and brilliant, a mother to be proud of, a woman who, despite her small size, accomplished many things in the medical department. But still, Misaki was small and she wasn't exactly wonderful or particularly brilliant, and her small size was a handicap she'd never get over. It was the reason for her constant bullying, shyness, and the result of both was she never had a boyfriend.

_A boyfriend_, Misaki thought bitterly. _I have more important things than boys this year!_

Blushing ferociously, she continued walking looking at the various activities on the grounds. Bored, she decided to go up to the room when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me?"

Misaki spun around and hello, gorgeous! Behind her was definitely the most handsome guy Misaki had ever seen in her left, perfectly parted hair, tall, and bright blue eyes. Looking at the tag on his jacket, she noticed he was a third year. Forget blushing, her whole face now resembled a really bad case of sunburn.

"Um, y-yes?"

The boy smiled and Misaki tensed more; he was even more handsome when he smiled. Still smiling, he said, "I believe this is yours." He handed Misaki her room key. Misaki looked at it for a second, slightly embarrassed, but then smiled. That was really sweet.

She returned his smile. "Thank you very much!" she said.

For a second the boy looked slightly surprised, but then smiled even more brightly.

"I take it you're a first-year? Or are you a visitor to your family?" he added.

Misaki sighed. Would it ever end? "No, I'm a first-year," she said firmly.

The boy grinned again. "Ha, ha, no offense meant! You're pretty cute anyway. You do any sports?"

Blushing again at his previous comment, Misaki smiled slightly. "Yup!" she said brightly. "I do track!"

"Really?" the boy asked curiously. "I do, too."

Misaki stared. "Really?"

The boy laughed. "Really. And basketball."

Before Misaki could say anything else, another voice came into the conversation. "Hey, there you are! We've been looking all over for you!" Misaki and the boy turned around and saw a group of guys calling to him. With a final smile and a wave, he turned to greet them. Misaki waved back, smiling. Maybe, college wouldn't be so bad after all.

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Misaki sighed as she walked up. The elevator was broken and she was never going to get used to the steps. Finally she opened the door (which was once again unlocked) and prepared to fling herself onto it when she saw that the other bed was already occupied by a beautiful girl. Inwardly, she groaned. Why did everyone but her have to be absolutely gorgeous?

"Shidou Hikaru-san?" she asked and the girl smiled and nodded. She had short hair, layered and chopped, as well as unusually red-brown eyes. Misaki bowed. "I'm Misaki, Suzuhara Misaki." Misaki blushed. "I guess that makes me your roommate."

Hikaru frowned for a second, but it soon turned to a laugh. "Good afternoon, roomie!" she said cheerfully. "Sorry, for a second there I thought you were just a messenger or had the wrong room or something" – Misaki felt absolutely crushed – "but, now I see that you're pretty, too pretty to be thirteen!" Crushed? Forget that, Misaki had just been pressured down to a pancake.

Laughing, Hikaru shot Misaki an earnest grin until she saw her crestfallen face. "Ah, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings – I mean I…"

To Hikaru's surprise, Misaki laughed and sent her a smile. "It's okay. I get it all the time. I guess that's what I get for being small."

Hikaru smiled again. "No it's not. I'm really sorry. So, I guess you're eighteen?" she asked.

Misaki shook her head. "No, I'm seventeen, just turned seventeen. I skipped a grade."

Hikaru's eyes widened. "Seriously? Oh my god, that's so funny!" At Misaki's questioning look, Hikaru sighed and said, "I was held back a year. I'm nineteen."

Misaki looked at her, trying to hold back her question, but Hikaru luckily didn't notice. "Anyway, that was along time ago, and I managed to scrape up good enough grades for this dump. And Dad and Mom really wanted me to go here, so I-"

"Really?" Misaki asked. "My-my mom really wanted me to go here, too! Even though I really didn't want to, but I…" Misaki faltered.

"Seriously?" Hikaru asked. "Your mom forced you to go? That's even funnier!"

Misaki blushed. Forced was kind of a strong word to use on a dead person, especially a good dead person. "Well," Misaki muttered, "I mean, my best friend, Tamayo-chan is here, too. She attends the community college nearby, and I really wanted to see her. I haven't seen her since I was fourteen."

"Huh? Oh, that's cool. Yeah, I live near here, too, but I kinda wanted to get away from my parents; they were sort of sick of me. I live about an hour away." Hikaru was quiet for a second then said. "It's funny. I used to be an hour away from him, but as soon as I'm within five minutes of him, I dump him. I guess that's pretty funny, too."

Misaki frowned. "Excuse me?"

Hikaru blinked and snapping back into reality, she explained, "Oh, I just dumped my loser boyfriend, Kobayashi." Misaki frowned when Hikaru said, "He was a sweet guy and everything and most girls would be super lucky to have him, but he was a year younger than me, doesn't attend college, and just not my type. My, my, I seem to be running through boyfriends lately. Well, whatever. Not my fault if there isn't a guy good enough to last me two weeks."

"Anyway, I met him at orientation, and it seemed like a good idea at the time, but dating a karate dojo instructor is so not my thing. Anyway, I have to head out later and check out the campus. I was crashing here for a while. Maybe I should go look for a job." Glancing at Misaki, she asked, "What about you? You have a job yet?"

"Actually," Misaki said, "I do. I have to go there at five 'o clock today, but it's only three now."

"Cool," Hikaru said. "Where do you work?"

"Chobit," was the reply. "The electronic store. I used to work there back home, but since they have one close by, I also got offered a job here, too. The owner of the Chobit Company, Icchan-san was a friend of my mom."

"Cool," Hikaru said again. "Well, see you later Misaki-chan!" She jumped out of bed and left.

"Yes… bye, Hikaru-san." Misaki let out a breath of relief. Hikaru wasn't so bad, at least not for a person with a thousand dollar suitcase. College definitely wouldn't be so bad after all.

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The new Chobit was much bigger than the one Misaki worked out in her old town. But just like the other one, it was big and colorful and full of the newest, neatest technology mankind had ever known. There were a bunch of people there already working. The boss, just a grumpy old man everyone called Manager, had been notified of Misaki's arrival and put her to work immediately.

"You already know how to do everything, so get working! Do your job! I'm not paying you for nothing!"

Misaki nodded and meekly added, "But, sir, I have no clue how everything is organized."

"You don't? What did you do at your last store?" he demanded.

Blushing, Misaki said, "Well, the materials were put into different places. I know how to work and fix everything."

For a second, the old man's face reddened, but added, "Right. Hey, Wizard! Get over here! Give this girl a tour of store!"

A college-aged student came rushing over, and not to Misaki's surprise, he, too, was gorgeous with a nice height and equally nice spiky hair. He bowed at Misaki slightly which she returned.

"Suzuhara Misaki, meet Harada Wizard. Harada Wizard, meet Suzuhara Misaki. Show her around the store. Anyway, Suzuhara, Harada attends Deus, second-year. Harada, Suzuhara also attends, but a first-year as you can tell. Now, hurry up and work!" With that, he left.

Wizard rolled his eyes and said, "Suzuhara-san."

She shook her head and said, "Please just Misaki, Harada-san."

Wizard nodded. "Right. If that's the case, Misaki-kun, you call me Wizard. No one calls me Harada anyway. What a stupid last name. Now come on. Let me show you the ropes."

"Okay, Wizard-san."

As Misaki followed Wizard she thought about hot guys, gorgeous girls, huge stores, and a great school where she'd get a great education all at once. Yup, Deus definitely, definitely was a good idea.

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Author's Note: Ahhhh! The first chapter! I'm begging you! Please, please, PLEASE review! All comments and criticism are greatly appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2: Friends, New and Old

Winds of Autumn

Summary: (AU) After promising her mother she'll make something out of her life, Suzuhara Misaki attends the prestigious college, Deus. There begins the tale of six unlikely people bound to fall in love.

Good morning, lovely readers! It's Tanicao/Tani/Cao-chan reporting! For now, let's say Cao-chan, kay? Anyway, please enjoy the second chapter of "Winds of Autumn!"

Oh, and sorry about spelling Misaki's name wrong in the first chapter. My bad, my bad. It's still good, right?

Disclaimer: Dudes, if I owned Angelic Layer, I would so make it longer than just five volumes or twenty-six eps. So, Angelic Layer not mine.

_"So it's true that you're really leaving?" she asked, her stray brown locks, her only two, floating in the breeze._

_The other girl turned around and smiled, short, blonde hair waving behind her._

_"Yeah. I can't believe I'm moving away from you, Misakichi. I'm going to miss you… so, so much. And… I'm really sorry about your mom…"_

_Misaki shook her head. "It's okay Tamayo-chan. I loved her very much, but we didn't know each other all that well. I'm… let's talk about you. You promise you'll call me at least once a week?"_

_Tamayo nodded._

_"Promise that we'll still be best friends?"_

_Tamayo nodded again._

_"And," Misaki said, blushing, "if you ever get a boyfriend, you have to swear you'll tell me immediately."_

_Tamayo laughed._

_"But of course! And you too," she added, "as I imagine you'll get one before me."_

_Misaki shook her head. "I'm not pretty or incredibly athletic like Tamayo-chan."_

_Tamayo laughed and stepped closer to her friend. Her hair shone golden in the sun. Slowly she grabbed her friend's hands and pulled her into a hug one last time under the sunset. "No, Misaki," she said softly. "You're beautiful."_

Chapter 2 – Friends, New and Old

"Ah!" Misaki groaned to Hikaru. "We have so much homework! I don't think I'll ever be able to finish it!"

Hikaru grinned. "I think you can, Misaki-chan," she said encouragingly. "You didn't skip a grade for nothing."

"Easy for you to say, Hikaru-san," Misaki muttered. "You, the unbelievable teacher's pet! I didn't think that was possible in college!"

"Hey! I resent that! And you're a teacher's pet, too!" Hikaru droned. "Did you _hear_ Shirahime-sensei fawning over you yesterday? And that's the only class we share, too.It's enough to make one puke!" Misaki blushed and Hikaru added, "Oh, and when will you remember to not call be 'san?' I'm telling you; 'Hikaru-chan' or just 'Hikaru' is perfectly okay! The only thing I can say is at least it's not '_Shidou-san_.' That would make _me_ puke. Anyway, what are you still doing here? Didn't you tell me you were eating out with your friend at noon?"

Misaki nodded, then sighed. "Yes, Hikaru-san. And I can't call you 'chan' because you're just so…"

Hikaru sighed. "Am I that intimidating?"

Misaki blushed. "No! No – ah – I mean… You're just so much taller and you have better muscles and you're so pretty! I can't just call you 'chan;' it would be really awkward."

It was true. Over the past few days, Hikaru only surprised her more and more. She was brilliant, a volleyball player (who, of course, made it to the top team), and comfortable around girls and guys alike. Misaki also became more and more shocked at Hikaru being held back a grade. She assumed it was because she started early, but that just didn't seem the case. Either way, the reasons couldn't have been academic.

Batting her eyelashes, Hikaru said, "Oh, Misaki-chan, you make my head swell. Anyway, get out of here and go to your friend!"

Misaki nodded. "Y-yes!"

--------------

"It's Saturday," Misaki said aloud as she checked her watch. "Hikaru-san is right; I really shouldn't study on Saturday. And I get to see Tamayo-chan after all this time! Ah! I'm so happy!"

"About what?"

Misaki spun around, at the familiar voice. "Um… hello?" she asked timidly. "Tamayo-chan?"

"Misakichi!" And with that word a blonde whirlwind ran over the sidewalk straight into her best friend's arms and gave her an enormous bear hug.

"I missed you! I missed you! I missed you! I missed you!" Tamayo said, delighted. "Oh, Misakichiiiiii! I missed you!"

"I missed you, too, Tamayo-chan," Misaki gasped. "But you're suffocating me."

A second later Tamayo was off her and blushed. "Super sorry, Misakichi. Is it just me or have you grown shorter?"

Misaki rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up. Have you shrunk taller?"

Tamayo laughed. "Yeah, yeah! Oh, yeah! Misakichi, I want you to meet a friend of mine! Koutarou-chan, come over here!"

A boy standing over on the sidewalk awkwardly glanced at the two girls and walked over. Tall, short hair, nice, warm eyes, and perfect posture were his attributes. Nothing really out of the ordinary, but pleasant enough anyway.

He bowed. "You must be Suzuhara Misaki-san. I'm Kobayashi Koutarou." His voice was firm, but gentle.

Misaki returned the bow. "P-pleased to meet you, Kobayashi-san!" In the corner of her mind, Misaki could've sworn she had heard his name somewhere before, but figuring it was just from Tamayo, she let it drop. The two smiled at each other in a comfortable silence until Tamayo interrupted it.

"Ooh, Misakichi, already flirting! You've really changed! And lover-boy, this is such a surprise! So, you two lovebirds call each other by your first names! Friends of mine are friends of each other… or maybe a little more," she hinted, casting a wink at the two of them.

Both Misaki and Koutarou turned identical shades of red. "Tamayo," Koutarou groaned.

"T-tamayo-chan," Misaki stuttered.

Tamayo scowled. "You want me to leave so you guys can kiss?"

The reaction was immediate

"NO!" both shouted at once.

Tamayo giggled. "Ooh, denial," she teased and the three walked off of the campus and out to lunch, arguing the whole way.

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"Really? Koutarou-chan owns a dojo? That's amazing!"

Koutarou blushed as he sipped his lemonade. "Not really," he muttered. "It's a passed down kind of thing. The dojo has belonged to my family for ages, and since I'm not going to college, I decided to take over. My dad's been kind of sick lately." Catching Misaki's worried look, he hastily added, "He's not going to die or anything. He's just sort of old."

"Thank goodness!" Misaki exclaimed. "That would be terrible!"

"Are you two _sure_ you don't want to leave me alone? You're doing a good job of leaving me out of the conversation anyway."

"No!" Misaki and Koutarou shouted causing them both to turn bright pink and become interested in their drinks. All during lunch, Tamayo had sent hints that the two were in love, hints that were profusely denied.

"Well, you two are good for each other," Tamayo declared. "Anyway, Koutarou-chan, Misakichi has never had a boyfriend and you've never had a girlfriend, so it's a pair made in heaven!"

Misaki frowned. "But if that's the case, Tamayo-chan, then you and Koutarou-chan would also be the perfect match."

Tamayo seemed about to retort, but Koutarou beat her to it. He laughed. "Don't be silly, Suzuhara." Changing the subject, he added,"Oh, and did you know that Tamayo works at the same dojo as me?"

Grinning, Misaki said, "Really, Tamayo-chan? I'm so happy for you; you've always wanted to work at a dojo!"

Tamayo grinned. "Yup. Actually, have you gotten a boyfriend, Misakichi? I'm not sure, but I had heard there are a lot of cute guys at Deus."

Misaki's thoughts traveled to the boy who gave her the room key yesterday. "There definitely are," she said dreamily.

Tamayo smirked. "Ooh, our little Misakichi has a –"

"No! I mean, I don't even know his name, but…" Misaki stammered, but soon faltered. Why was she thinking about the polite boy anyway? He probably already had a girlfriend.

"Anyway, Suzuhara," Koutarou interrupted abruptly, "How's school been going for you?"

"Oh school's been fantastic! And so has work! Even though the stores are so big! And my roommate, Hika-"

"Your roommate?" It was Tamayo. "Hey, what's she like? If you like her, I'd like to meet her sometime soon."

Misao smiled broadly. "Yes! That was would be fantastic! Her name is Shi-"

"Your food," said the waiter and he handed the plates of an enjoyable lunch.

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The sun glowed red, turning the clouds pink, the sky orange, and Suzuhara Misaki ran beneath, panting slightly. She had to get ready for the team! It was a lonely run as the grounds had filtered out and there was no one outside, no one but her and the birds and the earth… or not. Surprised, Misaki spotted another figure running far ahead of her, jogging at a slow pace.

Not wanting to be alone and not thinking quite straight, Misaki called, "Wait!" to the lone person ahead of her. The figure stopped and Misaki neared, she gasped. It was the boy from the other day! Hearing her, he turned around and when he saw her he smiled.

"You really do track," he laughed, "I thought I was the only runner! Especially because it's been so chilly."

Misaki blushed and said, "Well, maybe they would run because it's autumn."

The boy frowned. "Really? I don't care much for autumn. I think it makes me think of how summer burns away."

Blushing more, Misaki said, "Well, I really like autumn. I like the red color and the chill and the scarves and I think it's kind of romantic –" she gasped. "Er… well… you understand…" But the boy merely laughed, not unfriendly, and sent her a grin.

"Very romantic. Now, little runner, I'll race you to the block."

"Okay!"

The two of them sprinted along the sidewalk, trying to best each other. The boy soon took the lead and got to the end long before Misaki. But at the end, the two exchanged a smile.

"Thank you very much!" Misaki said. "That was really fun! And you ran hard and I thought…"

The boy laughed again. "You thought I wouldn't?" Blushing as red as the leaves, she nodded, and the boy's smile widened. "Ha, ha, that was a great race. I'm sure our track team will be strong this year." Checking his watch, he said, "Oh, it's almost six. I have to go study."

"Yes," Misaki said, half disappointed, half happy she got to spend time with him. It was a fun run and…

"Oh no!" she cried suddenly.

Casting a surprised look, the boy asked, "What?"

"I had to be at work fifteen minutes ago! Bye!" And with that, Misaki raced off back to the building, so fast she would have destroyed the boy in the race earlier. _I forgot to ask his name_, she thought bitterly. Oh well. She was so bad with names she probably wouldn't remember it anyway.

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Mihara Oujiro smiled at Wizard as the two ate dinner, holding his glass delicately and charmingly in a perfect princely manner. It had been a long day of doing nothing. Wizard looked as bored as ever, as he fumbled with some device he received from that game and electronic store he worked at.

"Was work interesting today?" he asked his stony friend.

Wizard glanced at him briefly before looking down. "No, but I think that our manager has a soft spot for that new girl."

Oujiro frowned. "What new girl? And soft spot? I thought you told me he was the devil's spawn."

Wizard shrugged. "She came in like half an hour late or something, and he just brushed it off like it was no big deal. But I don't blame him. She's sweet, that girl. Cute, too."

Oujiro smiled softly; his friend never talked about girls. "Do you like her?" he asked.

Wizard shook his head, "No, not really. I think you would though. She reminds me a lot of that lady you loved."

"Then there seems to be a lot of people like that these days," Oujiro said, thinking of the girl he raced with on the grounds.

It was Wizard's turn to frown. "Really? If so, the world would be a nicer place, and it certainly isn't nicer."

Oujiro shook his head at his friend's pessimism. "Okay, so what's the new girl's name?"

Wizard looked at his friend straight in the eye. "This is the funny part. It might be coincidence, but…"

"But what?"

"Well, it's her name, Mihara. Her name is Suzuhara, Suzuhara Misaki."

Oujiro, in a very ungraceful manner, dropped his fork.

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Author's Note: The second chapter, and the plot thickens! Oh, please, I'm begging you to review! Puh-leeze? does puppy dog eyes Anyway, I hope you look forward to the next chapter!


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